Creating a Family
by wishingonfrost
Summary: When Alfred finds a stray cat, he decides that now would be a good time to adopt pet. USUK, Nekotalia/Catalia AU.
1. Chapter 1

"Alfred, is that what I think it is."

Alfred was holding a sopping wet, rather unhappy-looking cat. A thunderstorm was rolling in and it was raining fairly heavily, so he was wet as well.

"Well I guess that depends on what you think it is, Arthur." Alfred's voice and eyes were filled with all the excitement of a child on Christmas morning. Arthur sighed and motioned the pair into his home and out of the rain, closing the door behind them. When he had come to open the door, he'd expected his boyfriend, Alfred. The cat, however...

"Where did it come from?" Of all the questions he could've asked, Arthur was able to form that one the quickest.

"I think it's a he. I found the little guy on my way over here; he was hiding from the rain in a box on the side of the road. I couldn't just leave him there..."

Arthur took a closer look at the cat. It was completely white, save for two Orange spots on its head and backside and its tail. There were also a few black markings above its eyes that looked remarkably like eyebrows. It was a fairly small and scrappy cat, although it probably looked smaller because its fur was plastered to its sides from the rain. Arthur supposed that, when dry, the cat could be pretty cute. He reached out and gave it a pat on the head. The cat simply looked at him with a somewhat annoyed expression.

"What are you going to do with it?" Was Arthur's next question.

"Him, Arthur. _Him_. I, uh..." Alfred scratched his cheek and looked down and the animal huddled in his arms. It seemed to shiver a bit, as if it were cold. (Though it wouldn't be much of a surprise if it were true.) "I was thinking of keeping him," Alfred said quietly, not making eye contact with Arthur. He looked like a child ready for a scolding.

"That's ridiculous. What do you know about taking care of a cat? Or any other living creature, for that matter." Arthur crossed his arms and looked at him, an eyebrow raised skeptically.

"Come on, it can't be that hard! Besides, what else can I do with him? He already loves me!" he defended, looking fondly at the tomcat he held. Arthur rolled his eyes, but nodded. He knew that once Alfred had decided upon something, changing his mind was not an easy task.

Abruptly, he turned on his heel and moved into his living room, knowing that Alfred would follow. He sat on his couch and gestured to the seat next to him. Alfred sat and loosened his grip on the cat.

Both Alfred and the cat had dried considerably since moving indoors, and the cat looked much fluffier than it had before. Its ears still lay flat on its head. Arthur watched as Alfred ran his hand over its back a few times, petting gently. The cat must have approved of this, as it started purring loudly, although it kept the same unpleasant expression on its face.

"Are you going to name it, then?"

"Of course I am! I just need to think of the perfect name for him." Alfred mumbled, gazing down at it. "I kinda want to name him after you..."

"What? That's just silly, don't-"

"No, seriously!" Alfred cried, interrupting Arthur. "He reminds me of you... I mean, just look at the way he seems all annoyed and grouchy! And the eyebrows? Definitely like yours. So what's a name that fits _you_, wrapped up in fur with whiskers and a tail?" He ignored Arthur's sputtering about his eyebrows comment and returned to thinking hard about what to name his new cat.

"I got it!"

Arthur stopped mid-sentence and looked at him expectantly, preparing himself for the worst.

"...And?"

"Crumpet."

"...Crumpet," Arthur repeated, brows furrowed in confusion. He was amazed at the seriousness in his voice. "Why?"

"Because you're so... British! Sorry, sorry, _English_. Either way, it totally fits him, doesn't it?" To emphasize his point, Alfred lifted the cat and wiggled him around in front of Arthur's face. Rolling his eyes again but smiling the tiniest bit, Arthur held up a hand to stop him.

"...I suppose." Alfred beamed.

"Yeah! This is great! We'll be a family; you, me, and Crumpet. I can imagine it now!" He hoisted the poor cat up again and let out a whoop of excitement. Letting out a soft chuckle, Arthur lightly lifted the cat out of Alfred's arms and rested him against his chest, causing Alfred to look at him confusedly. Arthur looked at him, a faint dusting of red covering his cheeks.

"I think this family thing could definitely work out," he said softly, leaning over to give Alfred a quick kiss.

* * *

><p>AN: I absolutely adore Nekotalia, so it didn't take much convincing from myself to write this, which is always a good thing. I tried pretty hard with this one, so hopefully it turns out as well as I'm hoping.<p>

There is a sequel coming for this one (can't forget Americat!), and I should have it up in a day or two.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed yourself! And remember, reviews are always appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

The next afternoon, Alfred and Arthur took Crumpet to the nearest pet store. On the way there, Alfred managed to nearly drop the cat twice. At the store, there was one other animal; a dog. And, of course, said dog caught a sniff of Crumpet and decided that it would be a brilliant idea to chase him around the store. Luckily they managed to not knock over too many things and the dog's owners were quite understanding and friendly. Only Crumpet seemed worse for the wear after the incident. His fur was fluffed up to a ridiculous degree and his expression was more angered than usual as he peered down at the dog from his place in Alfred's arms. The dog simply stared up at Crumpet and barked excitedly.

After Arthur profusely apologized to the dog's owners and helped pick up everything the two knocked off the shelves, he and Alfred began looking for things for Crumpet. They picked out a collar, food, a food dish, a few toys that Arthur suspected wouldn't be played with much, and a litterbox (because no, Alfred, Crumpet is _cat_, and they do _not_ do their business outdoors). They checked out, and Arthur carried Crumpet home while Alfred carried the supplies.

"Well this is already going swimmingly," Arthur muttered, looking down at Crumpet.

"What? Are you thinking about what happened at the store?" Alfred let out a laugh. "That was nothing! I got into way more trouble as a kid. One time, Mattie and I-"

"Not helping, Alfred," Arthur deadpanned. "And not the point. Do you think we can take care of a pet?"

"Like I said, it can't be that hard! Don't sweat it, we'll be great parents." Alfred winked at Arthur and laughed again when he saw his boyfriend's cheeks turn red.

"I suppose…"

Back at home, they got Crumpet all settled and fed him for the second time since Alfred found him. The day before, Arthur had dug an old can of tuna out of the cupboard to feed him. Then, Arthur bid Alfred and Crumpet goodbye as he left for work, and Alfred let him go after a hug and a goodbye kiss. Alfred had the day off, so he was determined to spend the day playing with Crumpet.

Alfred watched Crumpet finish eating and tried to bait him with a string toy as he groomed himself. Crumpet ignored him and curled up in a spot of sun near a window. Not one to be ignored, especially by a cat, Alfred took off his sock and threw it at the cat to get his attention. Crumpet sent him a look of annoyance and turned so that his rear end was facing Alfred. He pouted and scooped Crumpet up into his arms, much to the cat's surprise.

Alfred lavished the cat with lots of attention, petting him and poking at him, until Crumpet simply couldn't stand it any longer. He swatted at the man's hand and growled softly.

"Aw, Crumpet!" Alfred whined as he let the cat free and he scampered away, tail lashing about. "You're no fun. What else am I supposed to do all afternoon?"

He sighed and pouted before sitting down to play his newest video game. About ten minutes later he heard a thump from behind him. Pausing his game, Alfred turned to see Crumpet sitting on his coffee table, one of Arthur's novels on the floor. The cat was staring at him. He chuckled and went back to his game. Another ten minutes passed and he felt Crumpet headbutting his side. This time, Alfred paused and snatched the cat up again.

"Hey, Crumpet. You getting lonely, buddy? Don't worry, I'll save you from boredom!" He set him down and ran to get another toy. Coming back, he found Crumpet lying in the same place he had been sitting. The cat looked up at him expectantly. Alfred kneeled and tossed the toy mouse he'd grabbed in front of Crumpet's face. Crumpet simply looked at it for a moment, and then looked back at him. He tried again, throwing the toy back the other way in front of the cat, only to get the same response of a blank stare.

"Guess that's not good enough, huh?" Alfred nudged the cat out of his spot and resumed playing his game. Not two minutes had passed when Crumpet crawled into his lap and curled up, content. "Crumpet…" Alfred sighed. He turned off his game and sat with Crumpet for a while, even getting him to purr. But eventually the cat got up again and left him in favor of batting around the previously scorned toy mouse.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a similar way; Alfred trying to play with Crumpet only to be ignored, but finding the cat in front of his face wherever he went to do something else. After the fourth round of this, Alfred gave up and just sat with Crumpet on the couch, watching TV. Not ignoring him, but not torturing him with love, either.

About a half hour before Arthur was due home, Alfred walked to the nearby McDonald's to pick up dinner, which is what he usually did. At home again, he started eating his extra fries while waiting for Arthur. Crumpet hopped up onto the table next to him and sniffed at his salt-covered fingers.

"You want some, Crumpet? Here," Alfred took a handful of fries and set them in Crumpet's food bowl. Crumpet jumped down from the table and proceeded to lick at the fries.

"I'm home," came Arthur's call from the door.

"Great! I got dinner, come eat!" Alfred answered, unpacking the rest of the food from the takeout bag.

"McDonald's again, Alfred? Honestly… why do I leave you in charge of dinner so often?" Arthur sighed, walking into the kitchen. He took a seat across from Alfred and took his own food, unwrapping it.

"'Cause your food sucks and ruins the oven. We've been through this before." Arthur glared at him before taking a bite of his sandwich. He looked away, not wanting to see Alfred's smug smile.

"Idiot. My food isn't that bad."

Most of the meal passed in silence, and Arthur soon forgave Alfred for insulting his cooking. When he got up to throw away the trash, however, he saw Crumpet still gnawing on the fries Alfred had given him.

"Alfred."

"Yeah?"

"You gave Crumpet fries." It wasn't a question, it was an accusation.

"Is that bad?" Alfred asked, oblivious. After thinking for a moment, he added, "He likes the salt."

Arthur stared at him for a full minute, trying to decide whether or not he was being serious. "He likes the salt," he repeated incredulously. Alfred nodded, an innocent smile on his face.

"I swear, Alfred, giving a cat french fries. Are you completely nutters?" Arthur mumbled, more to himself than to Alfred, taking the now abandoned fry remains and tossing them out. He turned back to Alfred. "Don't do it again. It can't be good for him." Alfred rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Mom."

The two heard a low-pitched whine coming from the other room. Arthur snapped his head back to look at Alfred, narrowing his eyes. Alfred turned to smile at him sheepishly, realizing his mistake.

"If anything happens, _you're_ cleaning it up." Alfred could only nod to that, and made a mental note to never give Crumpet fries again.

* * *

><p>AN: So, yes. Crumpet is a true cat, and Alfred is, well, Alfred. I had originally not planned on writing this, but the idea was just too tempting.<p>

As for the sequel planned for this, I've decided to just post it as an extra chapter. It's not too long, not enough to qualify as a new story, but I quite like it nontheless. It will likely be up tomorrow.

Finally: gvusdjngklaAalksdsdfhjlmk THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. I was really not expecting such a lovely response to this. Any and all reviews, faves, and alerts boost my confidence in writing more than you could imagine, and just. THANK YOU. I LOVE YOU ALL. HUGS FOR EVERYONE.


	3. Chapter 3

Both Alfred and Arthur had gotten fairly used to having a pet in their lives; from feeding Crumpet every day (no more fries, of course) to giving him necessary love and attention, everything eventually fell into a routine. Each day one of the boys would primarily care for Crumpet, and they alternated to avoid arguments. All three were content with this arrangement. Despite Alfred's occasional spur-of-the-moment suggestions to find another cat to be Crumpet's companion, they really only needed and wanted one cat in their lives.

So, when another stray cat crossed Arthur's path one day on his way home, he was hesitant to bring it home. He had no idea where this cat had been, and it barely looked like a stray, given how large it was. But there was no collar or identification tag in sight, and he hadn't heard of anyone missing a cat. The cat seemed friendly enough, going so far as to lick his outstretched hand.

Arthur picked up the cat, and decided that it rather looked like a female, although he had absolutely no logic to back him up. The cat was mostly white, like Crumpet, though this cat had brown fur all around its neck and small black markings under her eyes that one could only describe as looking like glasses.

Taking the cat in his arms, Arthur noted how heavy she was. He started a bit when she suddenly started purring, vibrating so thoroughly that he could feel it all through his body. Hefting her up more so she leaned atop his shoulder, he started homeward once more, sure that Alfred would be ecstatic over the possibility of another cat in the family.  
>After the slight ordeal of getting through the front door of their home, (he realized now why Alfred had rang the doorbell when he'd arrived with Crumpet), Arthur called out to Alfred.<p>

"Hey, why are you so late getting home? I was starting... to... worry..." Alfred trailed off as he rounded the corner into their entryway, seemingly dumbstruck. He quickly looked from Arthur to the cat is his arms and back, trying to understand what was happening. "You got another cat?"

"I found her," was all the response he got. Arthur was starting to rethink his decision to bring her home.

"Her? It's a girl?" Arthur nodded.

"I think so, yes. I suppose you could say that she found me, rather. She acts as though she's quite fond of people."

"I thought you said you didn't want another cat." Arthur blanched. Alfred was acting like he didn't want or care for this cat. At this moment, Crumpet came around the corner to see what was going on, stopping in front of Arthur and looking up at the cat he held.

"I- I thought... you said-" Arthur's words were cut off. The cat he was holding wriggled out of his arms and leapt onto the floor next to Crumpet. She nuzzled their heads together, purring loudly. Crumpet appeared to have no clue what to do in response, so he ducked away and stalked off, his bushy orange tail swishing behind him. The new cat promptly followed.

Alfred and Arthur simply watched the two. Then Arthur turned back to Alfred, prepared to defend his actions.

"It looks like they like each other, huh?" Alfred chuckled. He took a look at Arthur's confused expression and added, "Yeah, I was a little worried when you first walked in with a huge cat like that, but... I was just worried that they wouldn't get along."

"I see. I suppose that's a valid point," Arthur said, sighing with relief. He hadn't really thought of that.

The two heard a loud meow from the other room and looked at each other in panic before racing off to see what had happened. Once they got there, though, they were somewhat relieved to see Crumpet being pinned down and groomed by the other cat.

The situation was amusing to all but Crumpet, it seemed.

"What are you thinking of naming her?" Alfred asked suddenly.

"What? Oh, I haven't really given it much thought. Though... if Crumpet is named after me, wouldn't it be fitting to name her after you? You do behave quite similarly, after all." Alfred opened his mouth to protest, but Arthur held up a finger to stop him. He pointed to the cats. Crumpet was still being 'held hostage' by the larger cat. Alfred closed his mouth and looked away, blushing slightly.

"Yeah, I guess," came his mumbled reply. Arthur smiled gently and turned his attention to the cats again.

"Alfred?"

"Yeah?"

"What would you think about calling her Scout?" Arthur glanced over to see his reaction. Alfred looked quite surprised by his name choice.

"I think that's a fine name. Maybe a little boyish, but... I guess it fits her." Alfred shrugged.

"Right then, Scout it is," Arthur said, nodding.  
>Another meow sounded, from Scout this time. It almost sounded like a whine. Both men were hardly surprised when they saw Scout being pushed away from and irate Crumpet. The poor cat looked like he'd gone through the wash, with the way his fur was sticking up in the most random of places. Alfred and Arthur exchanged looks and burst out laughing. A family already, Arthur decided.<p>

* * *

><p>-Epilogue-<p>

"Alfred, you'll never believe this," Arthur called, coming in the door, a caged Scout in tow. He was returning from an appointment with their vet.

"What is it? She's not pregnant, is she?" Alfred said, watching Arthur set the carrier on the floor of the living room.

"You know full well that's not the case. We had Crumpet neutered. And besides..." Arthur trailed off, opening the door of the carrier. Scout burst out excitedly and looked around for Crumpet.

"Besides what, Arthur?" Alfred prompted. Arthur flushed a bit.

"S-Scout is a male," Arthur grumbled, averting his gaze and blushing bright red. Alfred blinked, processing, before barking out a louder-than-necessary laugh.

"Way to go, Arthur. Leave it to you to mess that up," he continued to laugh as he pushed himself up from his spot on the couch.

"Shut up," Arthur scowled, turning away.

"Aww, look on the bright side, sweetheart," Alfred murmured. He wrapped his arms around Arthur's middle, hugging him from behind.

"...I'm afraid to ask."

"At least you picked a name that'll work even if he's a boy!" Alfred chirped cheerfully before laughing once more. Arthur buried his burning face in his hands while Alfred patted his back reassuringly, laughing all the while.

END

* * *

><p>AN: Aaaand there you go, the final chapter! I honestly don't know why I decided to name Americat Scout; I think it works, though. But I had lots of fun writing this, so I hope you had just as much fun reading it.<p>

Also, I apologize for the shortness! It was originally** a lot** shorter and I had to work hard to get it to this length, sadly. ;A;

Thanks for reading, don't be afraid to leave a review!


End file.
